Graduation

05.03.2013 Graduation Day!  We're thrilled to have been here and ... to be done. It was such a huge accomplishment for Craig and our family (mostly Craig). It was great to have Craig's parents and Grandma Jo here to celebrate with us.  It's strange to sum it all up with one quick ceremony. Not to say the ceremony wasn't great. It's just felt a little anticlimactic after all the work that went into getting here.  

We made great friends in Michigan, these would definitely be some of our best. We started the MBA program with no kids ...  it's been an eventful two years. We couldn't have done it without these guys.

Go Spartans! 

April 20th

James turned one! 

He loved opening all of the presents. It was a party with both grandma's and grandpa's and a few aunts and uncles watching on video g-chat. 

He insisted on using a fork, my little gentleman. 

... it didn't last very long. He was eventually covered in chocolate cake from head to toe.

April 20th was a huge day for us this year, not as big as last year but still big. James turned one and we bought our first house. 

Pushing The Walker

James's latest achievement is walking around with his toy walker. It's so fun to see him figure things out for himself. In this video we even got a second of his bear crawl. Currently when he want's to move quickly he crawls on his toes. Sometimes his hands can't keep up and he face plants it. It doesn't seem to bother him though, he just gets right back up moving full steam ahead.

First Hair Cut

James got his first hair cut. He sat on Dad's lap while our friend Jody did the cutting and Mom chronicled it all. Mostly it was a serious affair.... 

there were a few concerning moments... 

 

even a few tears....

but overall it was a great success! 

Torie's Birthday

We celebrated my birthday this year by going out to dinner, gchatting with our parents and having cake and ice cream with a small group of friends the next day. Craig the ever amazing gift giver got me lots of very thoughtful gifts. My parents and Craig's parents also got me really great gifts. Some highlights are a new diaper bag big enough for church, containers, new kitchen gadgets and tools for my silhouette. I'm a really lucky lady. Every year my life keeps on getting better and better.

Story Time

James loves story time. He even crawls over to Craig for a story when he sits in the upstairs chair.  He'll lay back in my lap and settle in when I start to read  to him. This is a picture of him with his favorite book I Like Bugs.  He touches the pictures and helps turn the pages.

Climbs Stairs - Check

James now climbs the stairs. He figured it all out on his own which is great. He's so curious. It's so fun to see him grow and learn. ... I'm not sure I was ready for him to be so mobile so fast.